The Redemption of Jesse and a Touch of Originality
by JohnnynotSid
Summary: Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline get busted in the worst way at Nationals, which leads to all sorts of dirty laundry about the champion show choir coming to light. But even after this humiliation, has Jesse learned a real lesson? Rachel/Finn St. Berry Jesse/OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: He's a Failure Now

"Are you sure you want to watch this?" Finn asked Rachel with uncertainty.

Rachel nodded. "Jesse, even if he wasn't the greatest guy, is a great singer. All of the members of Vocal Adrenaline are great performers. They worked hard to get where they are. I want to see what they've come up with. Maybe we could learn something."

Finn sighed. He really didn't like the idea of having his girlfriend watch her ass of an ex-boyfriend get everything he wanted after what he did to her. He didn't even really understand why the Glee Club was doing this.

All the members of New Directions had gathered at Kurt's house to watch Nationals on pay-per-view. So far they had seen the seven other teams, all excellent, but not nearly at the level of Vocal Adrenaline. More than once a cry over how New Directions could have taken Team Such-and-Such had occurred. But now that Carmel High was about to go up, everyone was looking nervously at Rachel as if they were sure she'd explode.

"Seriously, Rachel, you don't have to put on a brave face," Kurt said. "We understand if you don't want to watch."

"I don't want to watch," Brittany said. Everyone looked at her.

"He's the only guy in School I didn't get to make out with," Brittany explained.

"He was dating me," Rachel replied, shocked.

Brittany looked at her as if she couldn't understand the relevance of the statement. Rachel just turned away.

"No, I want to see what they do. Really! I won't dissolve into tears, promise."

Mercedes sighed. "If you say so."

Kurt un-paused the TV and an announcer came onto the stage. "Introducing the three-time National Champions, Carmel High School's Vocal Adrenaline!"

Applause, followed by the curtain opening.

Vocal Adrenaline were dressed in a yellow and white color scheme: white pants and yellow shirts with suspenders for the boys, yellow and white cock-tail dresses for the girls. The team was assembled in groups of fours, save for one of the female soloists, who was solitary and sitting dead center stage, her head in her knees.

The opening notes sounded. Another female came from stage right and tapped the girl on the shoulder. "If you wake up and don't want to smile/If it takes just a little while/Open your eyes/ Look at the day.."

Jesse came from stage left and belted. "You'll see things in a different way!" He then belted out the chorus, pitch-perfect as the rest of the team began to dance.

As the song continued, Jesse took the girl in the center and danced around with her. The production, choreography and singing were, off course, perfect. But Rachel grinned.

"Oh my God," She said, watching them. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"Look at Jesse!" She said, grinning, "Notice anything?"

They all looked at the screen. "Um, no," said Mercedes.

"Well, you guys haven't watched him sing as much as I can, so I guess I can understand why you wouldn't notice. But… He's not spitting."

"What do you mean?" Artie asked.

"Jesse, for all his talents, always had an unfortunate habit of spitting when he sang fast-paced songs." Rachel said. "But he's not now."

"So he got over a bad habit, why would you be happy about that?" Puck asked.

"Actually, I think something else is going on." Rachel answered.

"What?" The rest of them asked in unison.

They didn't need Rachel to answer. As if the Gods of Poetic Justice had taken that moment to personally intervene, the music for Vocal Adrenaline started skipping. Along with the music? Jesse and the lead female vocalists' voices. The word "Stop" which Jesse had been belting was now "Stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah."

"Oh my God." Artie said.

"No way." Quinn concurred.

"Pinch me, I'm dreaming," Kurt added.

All of them started pinching each other. They were that floored by what was happening at that moment.

Then, they all descended into peals of laughter.

"Oh God," Kurt said, laughing. "Brittany, please, go get my camera, we need to preserve this!"

Rachel watched in utter bliss as Vocal Adrenaline tried for a few more seconds in vain to sing, their faces growing redder and redder.

Finally, Vocal Adrenaline got off the stage, looking appropriately shamed.

Finn and Puck looked at each other. Suddenly, the fact that they had hated each other for so long no longer mattered. None of it did now that something so perfect had taken place. The two of them tried to remember why they had even bothered slashing Vocal Adrenaline's tires. If they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have bothered.

Finn felt wonderful for Rachel. Finally, she got to see some justice dealt that asshole. He hugged her close.

Once everyone got over their laughing fits, they all looked at Rachel again.

"Rachel did you know something we didn't know?" Kurt asked.

Finn hadn't even considered that. But Rachel shook her head.

"Honestly, I had no idea until I saw them start to perform." Rachel protested. "But as soon as I saw how Jesse's saliva stayed in his mouth, I knew. So much for his victory lap."

The whole team descended into laughter again. Hours later, Rachel and Finn were back at her house in her room, naked in her bed, with Finn's head between Rachel's legs and her clutching his hair.

"I'm almost there…. Almost there…" She cried out. Finn was getting a little tired. It was taking Rachel a lot longer than it took him and his tongue was getting tired. An idea struck him.

"Don't! Stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah-stah" He said, he went back down and Rachel squealed, her toes curling, her whole body tensed, then relaxed and Finn smiled. He wiped his face, hen came up and kissed his girlfriend.

"Is it messed up that I got off on a reminder of Jesse's failure?" She asked him.

Finn laughed. "As long as there is tentacle hentai, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I can't believe we ended up doing this again," Rachel said, "I wanted to talk to you about something important, but I-"

"I don't mind, really," Finn replied. "We can talk about this now."

"Finn, as you know I lied about swiping my V-Card with Jesse, and you told me about what really happened with Santana," Rachel said, "Both of us had really disappointing experiences in that manner and I really don't want that to happen with us. I mean, doing oral is definitely not nearly as messed up and weird as people portray it to be and I think we are still able to maintain some loving intimacy even when one of us isn't facing each other. But I want us to take the next step, and I want it to be special. Because even if we're not together forever, I still know that I would be able to look back on losing it to you without regret. But still, I want it to be perfect. Which is why I was able to talk my Dads into this."

"Into what?" Finn asked. He definitely liked where she had been going up until the part where she brought up her Dads.

"Well, every few years, my Dads and I go to France for a few weeks during the summer right before school starts. I was able to convince them to let me invite you this time. Sure, I had to listen to a lecture about condoms and safe sex for two hours afterward, and if you say yes they are going to make me go get fitted for a diaphragm and pick a brand of birth control pills, but wouldn't it be so worth it to be able to share that moment among the lights of Paris?"

"When are you going to France?" Finn asked, "I don't remember you mentioning this before."

"Well, once I found out there was the possibility that I might be able to invite you, I wanted to make it a surprise. We're going in the last week of July and are coming back mid-August. It's only April now so you should have plenty of time to plan everything."

Finn felt conflicted. On one hand, getting to go to Europe and have sex with his girlfriend was pretty much a dream come true. On the other hand, he had never left his Mom alone during the summer. He mentioned this to Rachel.

"Well, I mean, she has Mr. Hummel now, right? I'm sure she would not mind."

She had an excellent point. No doubt the two of them would appreciate some alone time. Living in his house alone wasn't that great anyways, and it also meant having an excuse to avoid Kurt.

"Well, what about my job?" Finn asked.

"Are you really that attached to Sheets n' Things?" Rachel asked. Her eyes narrowed. "Finn, don't you want to go to France with me?"

"Of course!" Finn said quickly. "It sounds incredible! I'd say yes right now if I knew my Mom would agree. I just want to be smart about this, you know?"

"Well, I don't want to rush you, but if you could get an answer within two weeks, that would be great." Rachel said.

Finn smiled. "I think I can manage."

Jesse St. James kept his head down and covered as he walked the Halls of Carmel High. It was the only way to minimize the amount of projectiles that came his way over the past few weeks.

He had been in Hell ever since that stupid infection fucked with his vocal chords and made him a musical cripple. But it had been even worse since Nationals. He hadn't been able to sleep since. The humiliation, the shame… It was awful.

All of his team mates abandoned him, except for Andrea, but really only because she was in the same boat he was. UCLA had withdrawn his scholarship and everywhere he went people were either calling him "Ashlee Simpson" or "Milli Vanilli."

He was furious. He was a star, damn it, no matter what he did. It wasn't his fault he had gotten sick. He had done what he had done to save Vocal Adrenaline. No one seemed to appreciate that.

He walked into the Principal's Office to find Andrea and Ms. Corcoran sitting with Principal Michaels.

"Sit down, Jesse." The Principal said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Jesse sat down nervously. He looked at Andrea, who looked terrified.

"Jesse, Sarah, I've gathered you here with Ms. Corcoran to discuss the incident of Nationals," Michael said, stroking his grey mustache. "Over the years, the three of you have brought a great amount of prestige to this school as a haven for the arts. Because of Vocal Adrenaline, we're one of the best-funded and most respected schools in the state. Carmel High owes a lot to you."

Jesse, Andrea, and Shelby looked at each other nervously.

"What happened at Nationals possibly undid all the good you did for this school," Michael said. "Not only did you absolutely humiliate the entire school, but you have also brought in investigations. You see, now the whole board of the National Show Choir Association wants to know what other things you've been doing to win. They are now interested in the fact that we've failed one of our seniors six times so he could stay in Show Choir, in the rumors that some of your dancers have been given growth hormones. That you allowed a hired choreographer to put several of your female members on starvation diets with no consultation with a Doctor or Nutritionist, that you've been using extreme hazing techniques on new members, that you barred students from joining based on their race, ethnicity or appearance regardless of their musical skill, that you all have been basically allowed to get away with anything you wanted, including egging not just other students, but a student from McKinley High who you, Jesse, dated. I was not aware of this, but apparently, a large section of the student body refers to you as 'The Hitler Youth.' All of this is coming to light."

"Wait a second, you egged Rachel?"

Jesse and Andrea looked at Shelby, who looked horrified, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yes, the student in question, Rachel Berry," Principal Michaels said, pulling up a file. "I called McKinley High School to try and keep this from becoming an issue. Not only did I get her file, but I also got to meet with Rachel's teacher, William Schuester. He told me a few very interesting things. Apparently, before Glee club, Rachel was an outcast who was pelted with slushies daily who had a very difficult time in school. She was raised by two gay fathers and never met her biological mother due to a contract that her fathers had made with the mother. And as it turns out, Shelby, you're actually the biological mother of Rachel Berry. But you knew that. Apparently, Jesse, you were the means through which Rachel and Shelby met, I don't think that was a coincidence, either. Want to explain yourselves?"

"In my defense, Mr. Michaels, I didn't tell Jesse to try and make her fall in love with him. All I asked was that he befriend her. But Jesse thought it would be a good acting exercise."

"But that didn't stop you from allowing his temporary transfer to McKinley, so I hardly think you were all that opposed to such an exercise," replied Michaels. "So as I understand it, Jesse pretended to be interested in this girl so that he could help you violate a contract you set up, Shelby, had her fall in love with him, and once it was no longer necessary for Jesse to hang around her, he pelted her with eggs. As I understand it, Jesse, you lured her out into the parking lot, and you and your friends picked eggs because she was a vegan."

Jesse couldn't believe this was happening.

"In fact, Ms. Cohen," the Principal said, "Apparently when this took place, you said to this girl, quote unquote 'You're a vegan, so now all the lives of those baby chicks are on your conscience.'"

Andrea just looked ill.

"Is this really what is going on in my school?" Michaels asked. "Shelby, I have given you almost unlimited free reign because of your victories. I thought I could trust you, yet you allow this to happen?"

"I had no idea about the lip-synching!" Shelby protested. "Nor did I know about the attack on Rachel Berry. If I had known Andrea and Jesse had attacked my daughter they would not have been singing solo, I assure you."

"That's even worse, Shelby," Michaels said, "As a teacher, you're not only supposed to teach them to perform, you're also supposed to teach them to be decent human beings. You used a student to manipulate a young woman in order to use a loop-hole in a contract to your advantage. I find it hard to believe that you didn't know about that, Shelby, you established a connection with not only the girl but Will Schuester. Toilet papering is one thing, but playing around with the emotions of a naïve young woman in order to violate a contract, that's just absolutely cruel. Jesse, you may not know this, but when you've defected to the competition and broken up with a girl, you've already done enough damage. You don't need to crush an egg to her face to make the point that you're not interested. If this were a one time thing, I would not mind so much. But apparently there are many incidents like this that have taken place over the years. Apparently, Vocal Adrenaline has been bullying top students to do their homework for them, you all once up-ended a porta-john on one Ms. Lucy Graham who has since had a crippling phobia of germs, something I hear you all further exploited for your own amusement. There was also a case this year where you rejected two students, twins Gypsy and Sam Levy who, after you discovered were able to compose music, you all showered in ketchup and locked into a dumpster. Luckily, the twins convinced their parents not to serve us with a greatly deserved lawsuit, but the two are going to be attending McKinley High next year."

"Fine, we'll write apology letters." Jesse said.

Michaels glared at him. "This is not funny, Mr. St. James. After your blunder at Nationals, Carmel High is now under a microscope. You and your friends have gained yourselves a reputation for cruelty. It's all going to come out now after what happened, and the school's reputation will soon be complete mud. You can't conceive the damage you, Ms. Corcoran, Ms. Cohen and all your team mates have done. There's something else, too."

"What?" Jesse asked.

"I've been looking over your grades, as well as the rest of Vocal Adrenaline's. Even with the stuff that was obviously not actually your work, it's not pretty. So, I've decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself, Jesse. And you, Ms. Cohen."

Jesse's heart rose. He couldn't believe it. He was so sure that he was going to thrown to the wolves.

"We're failing both of you."

Jesse's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?"

"We're failing both of you," Michaels repeated, handing them each a set of documents. "You've failed senior year and are required by the Board of Education to repeat it."

Jesse's blood boiled. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"No, I'm not." Michaels said. "It was either that or expel you along with several other members of Vocal Adrenaline. At least this way you'd have another chance of winning us another National Title. Trust me, you're getting off easy."

Jesse stood up. "I won't stand for this. Over my dead body. I am not some Brian Klein."

"I really have to protest," Shelby said. "It wouldn't help anything, his heart won't be in it. I don't think this is very fair."

"Your judgment regarding what is fair is not exactly credible, Ms. Corcoran. Not that you have any say in this. After all, I am firing you."

Shelby backed away, her mouth agape. "What?"

"Obviously, you cannot be trusted, Shelby, I'm sorry." Michaels said. "I'm giving you the option of voluntarily resigning."

"You've got to be kidding."

"I'm afraid not, Shelby." Michaels said. "But you are at fault for a lot of what has been going on, even for the lip-synching debacle."

"I didn't even know about that!" She said.

"No, but your obsession with competition and winning is what drove Jesse and Andrea to this. I doubt they would have done this if they hadn't been so insanely pressured by you. I'm giving you the chance to bow out gracefully. Don't pass it up."

Shelby held back tears. "You know what is sad? I was planning on quitting anyways. Until I heard what you were doing to Jesse. Then I changed my mind so I could personally make sure that Jesse learned a lesson and changed his ways. By doing this, you've ruined any chance of that happening. Hand me the papers."

Michaels handed her a clip board. Shelby signed it without a word and walked out.

Jesse and Andrea looked back at Michaels. After a few moments, Jesse stood up.

"I'm not going down that easily." Jesse said. "You'll regret this."

With that, he ran out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Not the One Who's Leaving

AN: I kept wondering why my story wasn't getting any reviews because the traffic was pretty high. Then I went back and re-read the chapter and saw that the writing was atrocious. I promise, I'm usually much better when it comes to writing, and this chapter is much better.

Chapter Two: I'm Not the One Who's Leaving, I'm Just the One with the Courage to Say Good-bye

Finn stared intently at the back of the seat in front of him, trying not to freak out. He had never been on a plane before, and being about to embark on a nine hour flight was not exactly calming. His mind kept reverting back to the beginning of Final Destination. He was nervous enough about driving, but flying? Forget it.

He kept reading and re-reading the safety instructions, making sure he knew how to operate the flotation device, how to put on the oxygen masks, where the emergency exits were. It would be just his luck that he'd die hours prior to when he would finally be able to have sex with Rachel.

After all, the situation was a little too good to be true. Going to Paris for free, with money Mr. Hummel gave him, with his girlfriend, with her Dads fully on-board and accepting of the fact that the two of them would probably have sex. Sure, Rachel's parents were pretty left-wing, but even the most easy-going of Dads would take issue with this. Sure, it had taken a lot of begging from Rachel, and they did put her in an adjoining room, given the two of them huge lectures and had promised Finn that if he broke her heart they'd personally send the Gay Mafia to cut off his balls. Finn wasn't sure if they were serious about that last bit. Whoever heard of a gay Mafia? But he wasn't going to take any chances. Even if there wasn't a gay mafia, both of Rachel's Dads were pretty built, and one of them was a cop, and Finn knew not to fuck with cops.

Also, Rachel had made him get tested, and was being totally insane about birth control. Not only did she get a Diaphragm and put herself on the Pill, she had bought every type of condom CVS and Eckerd sold and had analyzed and researched them all until she found the ones she felt most comfortable with.

Finn could sort of understand where Rachel was coming from. After all, she had been faced teen pregnancy up close. Sure, Quinn hadn't become a drug-addicted trailer-park victim, but she had lost her social status, her place on the Cheerios, been kicked out of her home for a while, and witnessed the break-up of her parents. That was enough awful stuff to make any girl petrified of getting pregnant. Finn was just glad she hadn't been there when Quinn had given birth or there was no way she'd be up for this. And yeah, he could understand why she was worried about STD's. Sure, Finn had only had sex with one girl, but that girl was still Santana, who had done it with Puck, who had literally done it with everyone and their Mom. Looking back on it now, Finn was actually somewhat relieved Quinn had never let him get into her pants, considering she had done it with Puck as well. He just thanked the Lord that Rachel hadn't let Puck get past first base when they were dating.

He guessed he should appreciate it. Sure, Puck said that sex wasn't as good with a condom as it was without, but he'd rather 98% sensation for fifteen minutes and no baby than 100% sensation for fifteen minutes and a baby. He had already dealt with that sort of pressure for months for a baby that wasn't even his. He really didn't want to do that again. Sure, it would be great to see his and Rachel's kids would look like, but only if that took place at least ten years into the future. And the fact was, Rachel definitely knew about this stuff. She already revealed she knew more about this than him months ago at Celibacy Club. She knew, like, statistics and stuff. And the fact that she was doing all this really proved how much she cared.

Oh God, what if Rachel died?

She was the one girl who's crazy he could deal with, and the only girl who didn't make him feel like an idiot all the time. It would just be sick if she died. He wasn't sure how he'd recover if she died. After all the crap he'd been through this year, all that time it took for him to finally be happy, to have it all ruined.

_Oh please God, if you have to make this plane crash, let Rachel and I survive, or if that's asking too much, let Rachel live at least and don't let her become all traumatized by it for the rest of her life so she never gets to be the lead in Evita on Broadway and becomes like that April chick or another Lima loser. And if we survive, don't let it be like Final Destination where death comes for us and we all end up dying in freak accidents soon after anyway. If you have to kill someone, have it be Ms. Sylvester or Jesse or Uwe Boll, please. Just, please, please let us make it to Paris and back and let us live full lives. If we make it back safely I'll start going to the synagogue with Rachel and her Dads like she keeps asking me to and I'll never use the word "fag" or any version of it ever again. I promise. Amen._

He looked at Rachel. "Have you read the safety instructions?"

"I read them when we first got on, why?"

"Read them again, please?" He asked her. She looked at him strangely.

"Finn, are you afraid of flying?" She asked.

"No. Yes. No. I'm afraid crashes and explosions killing us. So yes. Sort of. No. Yes."

She patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Did you watch Final Destination again last night?"

"Maybe." He would admit nothing.

She sighed. "Finn, I told you not to watch that! You might as well watch United 93 while you're at it. Why did you do that?"

"I don't know!" Finn said. "Mike and Matt were over and we were watching movies and Matt suggested it and the guys wanted to watch it!"

She sighed. "You didn't realize they put it on to mess with you?"

Finn groaned. "They would have called me a pussy and told everyone. You don't understand, you're a girl."

"Why didn't you make up some excuse, like you already watched earlier that day or something?"

"Because I don't think that way. Besides, they might have called me out on it."

She shook her head. "Finn, those sorts of things only happen on like .00001% of flights. They do all sorts of inspections on these planes to make sure they're in perfect shape before taking off. That's one of the reasons there are so many delays. The pilots and flight attendants are specially trained to deal with any situation and keep us safe. Every seat has numerous safety devices. They don't take any chances, I promise. You're more likely to get in a car accident than die in a plane crash. Flying is one of the safest modes transportation. Listen, we're going to be on this plane for nine hours. This isn't going to be pleasant, but you're going to make it into utter torture if you keep worrying like this. Just trust me, alright? I've flown a lot, I know what I'm talking about."

He looked at her, and she gave him that look that always had a calming effect on him. It was similar to the one his mom sometimes gave him. Rachel did sometimes remind him of his mom, but in a good way, not a creepy way. He never got that from Quinn, but she wasn't all that nice. Sometimes he saw Tina calming down Artie just by looking at him. Ms. Pillsbury used to be able to calm Mr. Schu down too. He sometimes wondered if that look was some sort of talent that all nice women were born with.

It was then that Rachel's Dads showed up.

"You two alright?" Neil said. He was a tall man with short brown hair and a winning smile. He was, of course, Rachel's biological father, but everyone pretended not to know that for some reason.

"Yeah Pops," Rachel said. She called Neil "Pops" and Mark "Dad." "Finn just has some flight jitters."

"The best thing to do, Finn, is to chew a lot of gum and take some Tylenol PM," Mark informed him. "The only way to deal with a flight like this is to sleep through it. Don't worry, this plane is totally safe. We wouldn't let our only daughter anywhere close to a dangerous situation."

"If it makes you feel any better, Finn," Neil said, "I was second in my class at the Air Force Academy and was a Captain before they kicked me out. If anything happens to the pilots, I can fly this thing."

"Thanks, Mr. Berry," Finn replied, "That does make me feel a little better."

"Good," Mark said, "Now, you two are sure you have everything, right?"

"Yeah, Dad, I double-checked." Rachel answered.

"Good. We'll be in first class if you need us." Neil replied. "We love you, Sweetie."

Neil and Mark both kissed their daughter on the cheek before leaving.

"Why was your Dad kicked out of the Air Force?" Finn asked his girlfriend.

"Because he was gay." Rachel replied.

"Oh, right."

Rachel pulled out a package of gum. She pulled out four pieces and handed Finn two. "Start chewing."

"Why?"

"When planes lift off and land, you get a lot of pressure on your ears and they feel weird because they're adjusting to the elevation. It can start to hurt and if you fly too much in one day, it can really hurt like Hell. But chewing gum releases the pressure and eases the feeling in your ears," she explained. "It won't numb them completely, but it won't hurt."

Finn put the gum in his mouth.

Just then, two people about their age peered over the backs of their seats in front of them, a guy and girl with dark hair who looked a lot alike.

"Hey, if you don't mind us asking, do you have any more gum?" The girl asked. "We forgot to buy some."

"Sure," Rachel said, handing them some pieces. The guy peered at Finn's McKinley Football sweatshirt.

"Hey, you two wouldn't happen to go to McKinley High School in Lima Ohio, would you?" The guy asked.

"Yeah, why?" Finn replied.

"We're going there next year. We're transferring from Carmel High." The girl said. Rachel and Finn's eyes widened.

"Really? Wow, what a coincidence." Rachel said. "Why are you transferring?"

"Because the Hitler Youth showered us in ketchup and locked us in a dumpster because we wouldn't compose their mash-up for them," replied the girl.

"The Hitler Youth?" Rachel asked.

"It's what us normal non-uber popular kids at School call Vocal Adrenaline," said the guy. "I'm Sam Levy, and this is my twin sister Gypsy."

"Sounds like something they would do." Finn said.

"Yeah, they do things like that all the time," said Gypsy. "And up until Nationals, they got away with it because of all the money and attention they brought to the school. Pretty much all the kids hate them, but they're afraid of them. We decided to leave."

"Wow, that's…. pretty bad. But, you know, we have mean popular kids at our school too." Rachel said. "Some of the football players, and the cheerleading squad."

"Yeah, but there's no way they're nearly as bad as Jesse St. James, Andrea Cohen and their hoard of soulless automatons." Sam said. "They've actually put sleeping pills in the drinks of smart kids who refuse to do their work for them so that the smart kids fail. They doused this one girl with hair-removal lotion and it made her hair fall out and they steal kids' ipods, remove their songs and replace them with Michael Bolton, Good Charlotte and Evanescence."

Finn grimaced. "That's…. that's bad."

"And they don't stop after one attack, either, they remind you of it every day. They like making people miserable almost as much as they like winning awards and singing Queen songs." Gypsy said. "We'd rather get a few slushies in the face than deal with them."

"Why does none of this surprise me?" Rachel said. "Well, at least they've got some justice dealt to them at Nationals."

"Yeah, but that ended up totally messing with our escape," said Sam.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Gypsy said. The twins' eyes flashed and they sprouted identical evil grins.

!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!

Andrea Cohen banged on the door as hard as she could and rang the doorbell several times, not caring at all for courtesy. Mrs. St. James came to the door, looking bewildered.

"Andrea, Hello, is something wrong?" She asked.

"I need to see Jesse. Right now." Andrea said.

"Jesse's not here right now."

"Yeah, I stopped believing that the fifteenth time you gave that excuse," Andrea said. She pushed past Jesse's mom and ran upstairs to Jesse's room, where she found him kneeling amongst a mountain of boxes. She looked at him, aghast.

"So it's true then," She said, horrified. "I didn't believe it when I heard it, but I guess I can't argue with what's in front of me, can I?"

Jesse looked up, groaned, and shook his head. "Andrea, please. You're not going to talk me out of it, so why don't you spare us both the aggravation?"

"You think I'm going to just sit back and stay silent while you ruin everything the two of us have worked for since the seventh grade?" Andrea said. "Well, I'm not."

Jesse sighed. "No, I guess if you did, you wouldn't be my best friend." He stood up and looked at her. "Alright, have at it."

"First I've got to hear it from your lips." Andrea said. "Why are you packing?"

"Andrea, you already know why…"

"Yes, but I want you to tell me."

Jesse sighed. "I'm moving in with my Uncle and transferring to McKinley High."

Andrea felt like she had been slapped in the face. "Why?" She asked. "Why are you doing that?"

"Because it wasn't right what they did to Ms. Corcoran." Jesse said. "They're exploiting us and turning her into a scapegoat when it wasn't even her fault. They threw her to the wolves after everything she did for them and it was wrong."

"Fuck Ms. Corcoran!" Andrea said. "Like she's some sort of angel? Jesse, she used you to reunite with her daughter in the most underhanded way possible. She even had you switch schools! All so she could legally break her contract with that chick's Dads. And then, after everything she had you do, she does a complete 180 on her "bond with her daughter" plan and doesn't even build a real relationship with her. She endangered your career for nothing! If you ask me, that should be enough to get a person fired."

"Oh, please, that's not why they fired her and you know it!" Jesse said. "They needed someone to blame and took what happened out on her when it was not her fault at all. It was ours, but they can't plausibly make us the scapegoats, so they fucked with her. They couldn't give two shits about my career or what she does in her personal life, all they ever cared about was the money we got the school. Now that they're embarrassed, they're throwing the three of us under a bus and pretending to be merciful. They would have expelled us, but they know Vocal Adrenaline doesn't have a chance if we go as well, that's why they're failing us. Well, I'm not going to let them get away with it."

"So what, then, Jesse, you're just going to throw away everything we've ever worked for?" Andrea said. "Don't you remember the pact we made with each other in the seventh grade?"

Jesse looked down guiltily. "I haven't forgotten."

"Oh, really? Is that why you're going to break it in every sense of the word?"

"Andrea… It's been five years and we did all we could to fulfill that promise, and look where it got us."

"Jesse, we can overcome this. All we have to do is show those snot-nosed losers at school who's boss and we could rule again. This is just a minor setback! Why are you abandoning everything we've worked for?"

In elementary and middle school, Jesse and Andrea were teased mercilessly about their love of musical theater. They had always been able to deal with it because they had each other. In seventh grade, there was a talent show and their guidance counselor had encouraged the two of them to do a number to prove that they weren't ashamed of what they loved. She thought it would help their confidence. So the two of them spent weeks on their number, a rendition of "You're the One That I Want" from _Grease_. They spent all the allowance money they had saved up to buy Mountain bikes on their costumes, cardboard sets, and a sound system. The night came and they did the number to jeering and booing. They were literally pelted with food and the next day beaten up. Sitting in the nurse's office, they made a multi-parted pact that 1) They would never be the school losers again and become the top dogs 2) They would become cool through musical theater and make everyone envious of their talent 3) They would make their dreams come true and 4) They would do it together and always be together no matter what.

"Jesse, we were the most popular kids in school and we became popular through musical theater, just like we said! We ruled Carmel so strongly, it shouldn't be that hard for us to regain what we had if we tried! You can't let this hold you back from doing what we said we would do!" Andrea said, "You'll ruin everything by doing this!"

"Andrea, don't you get it?" Jesse said angrily, "We already did ruin everything! Don't you get it? People hate us, Andrea. And I'm not just talking about since Nationals. People have hated us the whole time, ever since we joined Vocal Adrenaline. They've been calling us the Hitler Youth behind our backs for years! There's actually a Live Journal Community devoted to fan fiction which depicts us meeting gruesome deaths! There was a party celebrating what happened at Nationals! The only reason no one ever messed with us was because if they harmed one of us, the school would come down on them for threatening their precious cash cow."

"Oh, I get it." Andrea said. "You're scared. You're trying to run away from the teasing."

"Andrea, do you honestly think they're going to treat me any better at McKinley. If I was doing this to avoid being picked on, I wouldn't have picked the school who's chorus room I T-Ped and who's Glee Club I messed with. You know Rachel Berry, Shelby's daughter that I dated briefly to connect them and who we pelted with eggs? She's dating the quarterback of the football team now. The guys in the Glee Club wanted to bash my skull in after we egged Rachel and save for the kid in the wheelchair, all of them are football players, one of whom, Puck, used to spend his free time up-ending porta-johns on nerds and throwing people in dumpsters. I was in the weight room with some of the guys once. Puck, Matt, and Rachel's boyfriend Finn can all bench over 350. Also, the school's cheerleading squad, which is to McKinley what we used to be to Carmel? Three of them, including the Captain, are in Glee Club and all of the kids in the club reserve the right to humiliate each other. Even if they're not friends, they do not take kindly to people from other schools messing with their teammates. Also, I'm not a football player or a cheerleader, and if you're neither of those and in Glee Club, your social status is abysmal. It's also going to get around that I lip-synched at a National Event, and if you think they're going to leave me alone on that one, you'd be wrong. Trust me, the kids there are going to make me their bitch, and I've alienated one of the few teachers who could help me by terrorizing one of his favorite students. At least here I'd still be given the solos in Vocal Adrenaline. Do you really think I'll be given the same privilege when I'm at McKinley? No, not after pissing them off so badly. Trust me, my name is worse than mud there."

"Then why are you doing this? And don't give me that Ms. Corcoran bullshit. Throughout your high school career you've only cared about two people: yourself and me." Andrea said, "There's no reason for you to start caring now. Do you really think you'll have a chance at gaining back your Scholarship to UCLA if you go to McKinley? Their Glee Club's greatest achievement is that they beat a reform school and a school for the deaf. They won't be impressed at all."

"A reform school and school for the deaf which stole their set list right before Sectionals. That meant they won with numbers they came up with on the spot." Jesse pointed out. "They're not bad, Andrea, I know, I've sung with them. They're rough around the edges and suffer from a much lower budget, but they got a lot of talent, and I'm not just talking about Rachel, who makes Mariah Carey look like Ke$ha. They came up with a number where they used _wheelchairs_, and Mercedes, Kurt, Finn, Puck and Artie? They can sing extremely well. You know why they came in third at Regionals? Because Olivia Newton-John thought they were too sappy, that their costumes were poor quality and said that brunettes had no place in show business. Also one of the judges happened to be McKinley's cheerleading Coach who has been trying to destroy them since the beginning of the year. I know because Ms Corcoran bribed Rob Remmington to record everything that went on in the judges' room. They didn't lose because of lack of talent, because they were definitely better than Aural Intensity."

"Oh, so let me guess, you plan to lead them to victory and UCLA will be so impressed that you managed to turn this rag-tag team of misfits into champions that they will forget all about the incident and give you your scholarship back."

"That would be nice, but that's not the reason I'm going. I told you my reasons the first time. You can choose to believe what you want."

"So you're just leaving me, then?" Andrea asked, "You're leaving me to face the wolves and carry the team alone?"

Jesse walked up to her and took her hand in his. "It doesn't have to be that way, Andrea. You could come with me too. You could transfer as well. We could help each other, just like we did before high school."

She looked at him, horrified. "As if! Are you nuts? I am not going to uproot myself because you and Ms. Corcoran are being idiots."

Jesse's jaw tensed, but he kept his voice even. "We can still be there for each other, even if we're not going to be at the same school. We can be each other's shoulder to cry on. I'll probably need you more than you need me. You're the stronger of us. You always were. I'd never abandon you, Andrea, I promise. But I can't allow myself to be exploited anymore. I'm too good for that. You are too."

She backed away from him. "Yeah, and when you're not crying on my shoulder, who will be consoling you? Rachel?"

"What are you talking about?" Jesse asked.

"Admit it, in the midst of your 'acting exercise', you developed a hard-on for Miss Big Nose and now that you've found someone who can keep up with you vocally, you have no use for me and you've decided to trade in for the better model. You only ever needed me to be your vocal partner and shoulder to cry on. But now you've found a girl who can sing as well as you, who can relate to what you went through, and who you want. I only filled two of those qualifications."

Jesse had no idea where that came from. "Andy," he said, using his private name for her, "You're being silly. I lured Rachel into an ambush, crushed an egg to her face, played around with her emotions, broke her heart and humiliated her in a hundred different ways. Even if I was into her, which I'm not, there's no chance of us ever getting together anyway, and I know that."

"You loved her!" Andrea said, "Don't tell me you didn't, because you did! You said so, right before you crushed the egg into her face. I heard you! We all heard you!"

"Emphasis on the past tense, Andy," Jesse said hastily, "I'm not interested in her anymore, really."

"Bullshit! You loved her and you still love her! The way you never loved me!" She was in tears now, thoroughly humiliated.

Jesse's jaw dropped. "Andy… Is that what this is really about? I—I had no idea."

"Well, I hid it from you because I figured you'd either realize you loved me or come out of the closet. I was willing to be patient," Andrea said, her voice choked, "I loved you that much. But then Ms. Corcoran had you track down Rachel and… I was there that day you two were practicing in McKinley's auditorium after you transferred, Ms Corcoran had sent me to check on you and you two were doing the Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge! And you sang to her… I had never heard you sing that way before. You had this… aura, this, feeling to it. I could see it. And I knew. I knew you never loved me because you had never sung to me that way. I was willing to accept that we'd never be if it had turned out you were gay but… You're not. And instead of falling for me, the girl who has been there for you since kindergarten, who showed you your first musical, who has been waiting for you to wake up and see that we're meant for each other! But you never saw me that way. I might as well have been another guy. You never loved me. All that time, the only person you really ever loved was yourself. And I've been wasting my time for so long."

She looked down, shook her head dejectedly, wiped her eyes, than looked up at him angrily. "Well, I'm done, Jesse. You can forget about it. I can't take it anymore. We're finished until you wake up and return to sanity. Until then, I don't want to see you anymore."

"Andy, please," Jesse begged, "Don't do this. We can work this out, really. You're my best friend."

"We can work this out," Andrea agreed, "But not until you figure out the error of your ways. It's up to you. I've supported you for years, through thick and thin. But I'm not going to do it if you're going to reject everything we built our relationship on. I'm not the one who's leaving. I'm just the one with the courage to say good-bye."

Andrea turned and left the room. Jesse stared back at her, completely at a loss.


	3. Chapter 3: Hard Not to Be Optimistic

Chapter Three: It's Hard Not To Feel Optimistic

Kurt stared at his computer screen, watching Cabaret, wishing he had a young Michael York to himself. He didn't understand Sally Bowles. He was going to marry her and raise a kid with her, and she goes and ruins it by having an abortion. He didn't understand why people threw things away like that. Why would someone throw away a life with Michael York? Why would someone cheat on Finn? Or quit the Cheerios?

He had been feeling extremely glum ever since Finn and Rachel left for Paris. He had been in denial that Finn would actually end up going until he actually left. He didn't understand it at all. He had been there for Finn when he needed him the most, he let Finn borrow his Dad. He was cute, funny, smart, well-dressed, popular and he was a great singer. What more could a guy want? After everything he did to try and make Finn his, getting their parents together, dressing Rachel up like a hooker, helping him tell Quinn's parents about the baby, singing "I Honestly Love You." And now Finn was in one of the most romantic cities in the world with a diva who dressed like a Mormon Sunday School teacher and managed to be more obnoxious than those annoying teenagers in Slasher movies you keep hoping will die a gruesome death.

He thought he had gotten over the fact that Finn and Rachel were officially an item and that Finn didn't want him. But this Paris trip was too much. And since Finn's Mom now lived with them, he was hearing about it daily. Finn kept sending post-cards and pictures and e-mails. He was having a wonderful time, of course. They'd seen a bunch of shows and movies and concerts, seen all the sights. Then they had headed to the Riviera and went to the beach during the day and at night went to parties. The worst was Finn sending Ms. Hudson a picture of him and Rachel that a photographer took at one of these big parties. They were standing on steps like the ones from _Titanic_. It was a masked ball and Rachel was wearing an uncharacteristically gorgeous green dress with a peacock feather mask that Kurt wished he could wear without feeling weird. Finn was in a tux, cape, and had the Phantom of the Opera mask. It was just too much.

He wanted to be happy for them, he really, really did. He wanted to e mature, move on, and be glad that they were happy. But he was still a teenager, damn it, and when you're the lone gay kid going through high school you had enough to deal with without trying to be mature. He hated that he was still hung up on Finn, because the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wouldn't have worked even if Finn had been willing to date him. Even if they had gotten together, Finn would have hidden it from anyone, and Kurt never liked to hide a good thing, it would have been weird since they were practically step-brothers, and the fact was they had little in common. Finn didn't know anything about musicals, fashion, classic films, interior design, social activism or any of the things Kurt was interested in. What things could they do together that they both liked. While Kurt liked playing football, he really didn't have any interest in it beyond that. He had no interest in following the NFL teams or watching games. Watching sports on TV was insanely boring to him. He had grown out of video games when he was twelve, had no interest in basketball whatsoever, was freaked out by porn, found Westerns boring, and really wasn't all that into mainstream rock. What would they have to talk about besides school, football and glee? Besides, while Kurt found Finn's slow wits charming, he had no doubt that he would eventually find it annoying. It just wouldn't have worked out, even if Finn wasn't straight.

It did mystify him, though, that he was so happy with Rachel. What did they have to talk about? Glee and school, yes, but they couldn't talk about football because Rachel didn't know jack shit about it. Kurt at least knew the game, being on the team. Rachel didn't know anything. She did have more of an interest in mainstream rock, that was true, and she did support his athletic pursuits even though she didn't know the first thing about them. Observing them, Kurt was actually shocked at how much Rachel resisted talking about herself when they were together. Even though they seemed very happy together, there was just something about their relationship that Kurt found painful.

Kurt was so pissed at Jesse for being such a prick and ruining his relationship with Rachel. When he and Rachel got together, Kurt thought they were a match made in heaven and that Rachel was finally out of the picture. He thought Rachel had finally found someone as self-centered, vain, narcissistic, obsessed with musical theater, divalicious and, yes, talented, as she herself was and that she would be done with Finn. After all, Jesse was insanely good-looking. Finn was cute too, but Jesse was drop dead gorgeous.

Kurt might have been attracted to Jesse if he wasn't so openly self-obsessed and arrogant, didn't sing for Vocal Adrenaline, and didn't steal his solos. He definitely understood why Rachel fell for him, though. An insanely gorgeous popular straight guy who liked to sing and talk about musicals and divas as much as she did? But some time after Jesse transferred to McKinley, Kurt start to realize that their relationship might end badly. He had thought when he met Jesse that he was just as self-centered, vain, narcissistic, obsessed with musical theater, divalicious and, yes, talented, as Rachel. But after a while he realized he was wrong. Jesse was as talented and obsessed with musical theater as Rachel, but he wasn't as self-centered, vain, narcissistic and divalicious as she was. He was a hundred times worse, he just managed to get away with it because he could be charming. Rachel at her most self-centered would never introduce herself by saying, "I'm a star, you can learn from me." She at least waited to see what you could do before trying to "teach" you anything. Besides, Kurt was pretty sure that her whole attitude had more to do with being a defense mechanism than pure ego. She didn't realize half the time how annoying she was and was only purposely condescending when she was mad or if the person was mean to her. It took Kurt a while to realize it, but most of the time, Rachel was actually just sincerely trying to give advice. And she definitely did what she could for things she cared about, and you could tell she cared about things and people. Even with obsession with being in the spotlight, there were other things she cared about and she could be very forgiving. Jesse, on the other hand, you never got that impression with him. Unlike Rachel, he was condescending twenty-four/seven and acted like everyone should go out of their way to try and impress him. He didn't do anything to try and make friends with the other kids in glee, he just cosied up to Rachel all the time and used her as his connection. Even Rachel complimented her team mates, but he never bothered. At first Kurt thought he was just trying to get into Rachel's pants for some reason, maybe to break her heart and mess up their morale, but it turned out he didn't even need to sleep with her to do that. Rachel's problem was that she was obnoxious and over-compensated for the ridicule she was dealt by being a narcissist. She definitely did not deserve what Jesse did to her.

And if Jesse had just not been a gigantic douchebag, Kurt wouldn't be in the funk he was in now.

His phone rang and he saw, to his surprise, that it was Finn. Finn only ever called him during emergencies. But what could the emergency be? Kurt felt a swell of anticipation. Obviously, he was the only one Finn could trust if he was calling him.

"Hello?" Kurt said.

"Hey, Kurt? It's Finn, Rachel's here too. We're on speakerphone."

Kurt rolled his eyes but kept his tone sunny. "Great! How's France?"

"Dude, it's mind-blowing. You'd love it. But you've probably heard all about it from my Mom. Sorry I haven't called you sooner, but you seemed kind of bummed out that we left, and I didn't want you to feel like we were rubbing it in your face. But we got some news for you we thought would definitely cheer you up."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Well, the first piece of news we were going to surprise you with when we got back," Rachel said, "But then we got the second piece and decided we couldn't wait anymore. You remember what happened at Nationals with Vocal Adrenaline, right?"

"How could I forget?" Kurt said, bored, "So far it's been the highlight of my summer. The video of it has gone viral."

"Well, apparently, what happened caused Carmel High to be investigated. It turns out Vocal Adrenaline has been doing all sort of haenous stuff not just to win, but to other students. Well, it turns out that Carmel was so humiliated, that they finally looked at Jesse and Andrea's grades, which have been awful, and failed them. They have to repeat senior year and they lost their scholarships!"

That definitely cheered him up. "No way." Kurt said. "So no Los Angeles for Jesse then, eh?"

"Nope," Rachel said giggling. "But that's not all. Finn, you tell him, you're the right person to tell him."

"Well, we met a couple of former Carmel students on the plane over here who have transferred to McKinley basically because Vocal Adrenaline did something completely awful to them. Anyways, they're twins, a guy and a girl, they're in a band and are joining Glee Club. They're really great. But the best part concerns you personally, because you're no longer going to be the only dude at McKinley who likes other dudes."

Kurt almost dropped his phone. "Rachel, I demand that you tell me this instant whether or not he's cute."

"He's cute. In fact… are you at your computer?"

"Yeah."

"Do a GIS for 'The Little Twins, Carmel.'"

Kurt did this. He scanned the pictures for a few seconds. "Rachel, please tell me he's the bassist with the dark curly hair."

"That's him!" Rachel said, giggling. "His name is Sam and he likes wise-ass guys who dress well and sing. Sound like someone you know?"

Kurt was officially out of his funk. "Yes."

"Interested?"

"Rachel please don't play coy, you suck at it."

"Good, because we showed him the Glee photo and he thinks you're adorable and can't wait to meet you."

"He's a cool dude too," Finn said, "He's smarter than me, but I guess that's not saying much, but he's really funny, runs track, can play pretty much any instrument in existence, likes those classic movies you like, and he's a lot of fun. So yeah, you two should get along."

"We better." Kurt said. "You guys have seriously cheered me up. When can I meet him?"

"Well, we're returning in three days, and the twins come back two days later. How about a week from Saturday? That's when they're moving into their brother's house and we promised them we'd get some of our friends to help," Finn said.

"Perfect." Kurt said.

"We actually have to go soon, we're going to dinner with some people we met." Finn said.

"Alright, just one more thing, Finn." Kurt said.

"What, man?"

"I'm officially over you. But that doesn't mean I don't still love you."

Finn laughed. "Alright man, cool. See you soon."

They hung up and Kurt spent the next hour gazing blissfully at Sam's picture. He was definitely cuter than Finn.

~0~0~

"You need some help with that?"

Kurt almost jumped at the sound of Sam's voice. He had been struggling with an extremely heavy box which he normally would never have attempted to carry, but he had been hoping to impress Sam, who was even cuter in person than he was in his picture.

"Maybe?" Kurt said weakly, hating the fact that he was sweating.

Sam picked up the other end. "I think this has some of our amps in there. Thankfully we only have to carry this into the garage."

Kurt laughed. "Thankfully."

Sam's eyes were a gorgeous and rather ridiculous shade of dark blue. He had dark curly hair, was rather short, and dressed in a sort of indie-hipster style: jeans, chucks, band t-shirt. He also had a terrific smile.

"So Rachel told me you're the star kicker on the football team?" Sam asked.

Thank you, Rachel. Kurt blushed. "Well, I helped them win their first game."

"That's great. Our football team is abysmal. And they're all beefy dudes with no necks. I'm pretty sure they're incapable of walking and talking at the same time. Nice to see the clubs at your school are a bit more diverse."

They set the box down in a corner. Kurt couldn't stop smiling.

"Finn told me you like classic films," he said.

"Oh yeah," Sam said as they walked back to the car. "My sister and I idolized Gene Kelly, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey, Astaire. Basically all the people Madonna name-drops in Vogue. Back then a moronic hack like Michael Bay would never have had a career and bad horror films were kept to limited release."

Sam handed him a box and grabbed one for himself. "Both of these go in my room."

They walked upstairs.

"So you like Madonna?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, her music is cool, even if as a person she's completely ridiculous. I haven't seen a more pathetic mid-life crisis than Newt Gingrich's last two marriages."

Kurt snorted. "Well, yeah, but she's an icon."

"Definitely. But that doesn't make her any less of a weirdo. But then again, most great icons are usually weirdoes anyway. I mean, look at Liza."

And after hearing that last sentence, Kurt knew he was in love.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Jesse St. James looked out at his Uncle's driveway. Last time he had moved, he had had scores of friends helping him. About twelve people had showed up loading boxes into the house, all knowing full well that the move was simply temporary. Now? It was him, his Dad, his Mom, his Uncle and three day-laborers they had hired. It was taking even longer because since he was actually moving for the whole school year, he was bringing about ten times the stuff he had before. It was humiliating.

An old, run-down crappy used car drove up to his Uncle's house and to Jesse's surprise, it parked at the curb right in front of his Uncle's house. To Jesse's shock, Mr. Schu emerged from it, dressed in a grey University of Toledo T-shirt, Addidas basketball shorts and running shoes.

Jesse ran out of the house and over to the Glee coach. "Mr. Schuester? What are you doing here?"

"Jesse?" His mother asked. "Who's your friend?"

Will Schuester smiled, walked over to Jesse's mother and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. St. James, my name is Will Schuester, I'm the Spanish teacher and Glee coach over at McKinley High. We spoke over the phone last year when your son transferred to our school temporarily?"

Anna St. James smiled. "Oh yes, I remember. Frank? Greg?"

Jesse's Uncle and father walked over, looking at Mr. Schu curiously.

"This is Jesse's new teacher, Will Schuester," Anna said, "He directs the Glee Club and teaches Spanish. Mr. Schuester, this is my husband Frank, Jesse's father, and my brother Greg."

"Pleasure," Will said, shaking their hands.

"If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Schuester," Mr. St. James said, "What brings you here?"

"Well, I heard Jesse was moving, so I thought maybe you could use some help moving him in," replied Will, "I was concerned he might not have that much help and I thought it might be a good opportunity for us to become better acquainted."

"Well, isn't that kind of you!" Anna said appreciatively, "We certainly could use an extra set of hands, I still can't believe the amount of stuff my son owns."

"Don't mention it. Just give me a box and point me in the right direction," said Will, smiling.

Jesse couldn't help but stare as the McKinley Glee coach started carrying boxes of his stuff into his Uncle's house. Jesse followed Mr. Schu up to his new room and cornered him.

"Mr. Schu, I don't get it," Jesse said, "Why are you doing this? I thought you hated me."

Will looked at him sadly. "No, Jesse, I don't hate you. I'm very worried about you. You've had a great deal of pandemonium take place in your life recently and you're about to jump into a pit of sharks. You need someone on your side over at McKinley. That's why I'm here. I want to help you."

"But why?" Jesse asked, "After what I did-"

"We can discuss this later on," Mr. Schu said, "But now is not the time. Just be happy I'm willing to help you out and don't try to figure it out for the time being. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Lying on her bed the night before school started, Rachel Berry started calling every member of New Directions, informing them of the one piece of news she had neglected to give them: Jesse St. James was coming to McKinley. She had saved this for last, as a sort of special surprise. She had just finished spreading the news when Finn called her to say good night. Turning out the light, she kept a smile on her face. She had a good feeling about this year already.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Jesse took his time trying to find a parking spot, hoping that if he got in late enough, he could avoid the stares. When he could find no more excuses not to park, he did. He had been playing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", which usually had an invigorating affect on him, but it hadn't worked. He pulled the key out of the ignition, then checked himself in the mirror. He was perfectly groomed, of course, bt he scanned him face and hair for some flaw to fix. There were none and for once Jesse was cursing his good looks. He took several deep breaths.

"Look," he said to his reflection, "You're entering a hostile environment, yes. But you're made up of strong stuff. You're Jesse St. James, Nationally acclaimed singer and former star of Vocal Adrenaline. You're still you. You can do this. Just take it one day at a time."

He grabbed his things and got out of the car. He had walked three yards when someone called his name.

"St. James!"

Jesse turned. To his dismay, it was Puck with Matt and Mike and two huge guys on the football team who Jesse thought might be called Zemio and Korovsky. They were all smirking and Korovsky cracked his knuckles. They were coming toward him, looking like they were about to pounce.

"When Rachel told me you were going to be here, I couldn't believe it, I had to see it with my own two eyes," Puck said. "But here you are, as promised."

Jesse started backing away. "I don't want any trouble."

The five of them laughed.

"You don't want any trouble," Puck repeated, "Well maybe you should have thought about that before messing with us."

They started circling him. Jesse kept backing up until he backed into something. He looked behind him. To his horror, it was a dumpster.

Jesse might have been able to take Mike, Matt or Puck one-on-one maybe, but the three of them together, plus the two Neanderthals? No chance. Puck's eyes glinted.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long, long time." Puck said. "Zemio? Korovsky?"

They both grabbed Jesse while Matt and Mike opened the dumpster.

"Wait! Please!" Jesse cried out.

"Sorry." Puck said sarcastically.

Zemio and Korovsky lifted Jesse up and threw him—hard—into the dumpster. Before Jesse could even move, the top was slammed down over him.

Jesse gasped and gagged at the smell. He had landed in a mound of trash. He couldn't see a thing, but he started screaming when he felt something sticky and gooey in his hands. His Dolce shirt was definitely not going to survive this. He kept screaming when he felt something leaking onto his hair. It was an utter nightmare. The smell was so awful he couldn't take it and he freaked, his eyes stinging from the odor. It took him several minutes before he finally took hold of his senses and was able to stand up, lift up the cover of the dumpsters, and climb out, wiping the trash off himself with his hands, which he could now see had maple syrup on them. He looked himself over and pulled off a spoiled tuna sandwich off the back o his pants where it was stuck. He then quickly ran for the nearest bathroom, hoping not to cry in front of everyone.

To his complete misfortune, he ran into said bathroom to find Finn Hudson washing his hands at the sink. Finn looked up and his face split into a horrible grin.

"I see Puck and the others got to you," he said, looking like the cat who ate the canary, "Too bad I couldn't be there."

Jesse glared at Finn. "I have no doubt you're enjoying this, Hudson, but I have nothing to say to you."

"You will soon enough, I promise," Finn said. He left without another word.

Relieved, Jesse looked in the mirror at his hair, which was now matted down. He washed his hands as thoroughly as he could, then prodded his hair with his fingers and sniffing them. It was apple juice. Jesse bent down and put his head in the sink, running the water through his hair several times until he was sure it was all out. He dried it with some paper towels, added some gel and then combed it before attacking his clothes with a damp towel. When he was finally satisfied, he threw the towels away, took out his assignment paper, and went to find his locker, ignoring all the strange looks he got as he walked the halls.

He kept his head down for the rest of the day, thoroughly humiliated.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Rachel Berry pulled into the school parking lot, feeling excited. She was usually excited on first days of school, but this one especially. This year was a new start with a whole new Rachel Berry. This year she was going to keep her tendency to talk about herself too much in check, start being less selfish, share the spotlight (but not too much), finally win a community theater part, help Finn with his schoolwork so they had a chance at going to the same college, increase her social status, read more, resist the charms of pretty boys with bad intentions, work toward becoming Valedictorian, not let petty things like rude cheerleaders and being passed over for solos get to her, be a better friend to her team mates, remember all the witty comebacks she had come up with and written down over the summer for whenever she was insulted, host great parties, come up with amazing dance routines for the Glee Club and wow everyone with what an interesting, graceful, charming and sophisticated woman she had become. She would also work to help Mercedes find a boyfriend so all the girls in the Glee Club could talk about their boys. Most of all, though, she would maintain a mature, equal and loving relationship with Finn and lead New Directions to victory.

She checked her makeup in the mirror one last time, took a deep breath, and got out of her car. She walked with her head held high, but didn't have her nose in the air. She felt confident, but not the way she used to. She used to walked around with her head held high to send the message that she was too good to let people get to her, in the knowledge that she was someday going to be the biggest star Broadway had ever seen, and as a defense mechanism. Now she held her head high simply because she knew she didn't have to prove anything, that she was happy and excited about herself and this new year. Over the summer she had re-read Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_ and for the first time really read it with an open mind and interest, rather than just because it was required by the school. She had decided that like Elizabeth Bennett, she was not going to let rude and nasty people get the better of her or get to her. She was going to laugh at herself and everything ridiculous instead of letting herself be hurt or humiliated by it. If someone tried to bully her, hold her back and belittle her, she was going to stand up for herself but stay composed, just like Elizabeth did when Lady Catherine came to threaten her against getting engaged to Mr. Darcy. She was going to be fiercely loyal and protective of her friends and team mates, just like Elizabeth was of Jane. Most of all, she wouldn't let naiveté get the better of her. But unlike Elizabeth, instead of growing dissatisfied with the world the more she saw of it, she would think of ways to make it better. Not that she blamed Elizabeth for this, after all, the book took place in the late 1700s, back then a woman didn't really have the means to change the world for the better. But this was the modern world, and Rachel could do something.

Rachel didn't know what it was that had made her feel so empowered. But it had happened over the summer. It sort of came in steps. Part of it was finally having a sweet, cute, talented boyfriend who loved and respected her for who she was. Unlike a lot of girls' boyfriends she knew of, he actually included her in things. He had her help learn to build a shelf and taught her how to use tools because he said she had the hands for it. He taught her to throw a football and shoot a basket and the rules of both sports so that she wouldn't be bored at his games. To her surprise, she actually liked it. He also let her show him some dance moves, which she hadn't expected at all. He even sang the songs she wanted with her and watched all those old musicals. Even if he did fall asleep half-way through An American in Paris, it was the thought that counted. And he was honest with her, too. When they started getting serious, he came clean about what happened with Santana. She was shocked, not just about what happened, but that he was willing to tell her. She realized that he was really ready to be open and honest, so she told him about Jesse. After that, talking together became much, much easier. She would have been happy enough if he had just pretended to listen, but he gradually started to really listen to her more and more. Rachel knew he was really listening because later on he'd bring up something she had talked about and then offered some new input on it, and how could he remember those things if he wasn't really listening?

For a while Rachel was worried that she had fallen into the trap of letting her self-esteem be determined by a man. But after a while she realized it wasn't so much that Finn was her boyfriend, it was that Finn was her _friend_. The fact was, she had never really had a close friendship like she had with him. Just having a friend was what was truly empowering. She had had a boyfriend before, and Jesse had never made her feel this way. Being with Finn actually made her want to improve herself, such as trying not to be so self-centered. Not that Finn had complained, but she just wanted to do it for herself.

Another thing was simply now having great friends who had her back. She had become much closer to Tina, Mercedes, Kurt, Artie, and even Brittany. Rachel no longer even felt the urge to talk that often because she truly enjoyed listening to them. Until recently, she hadn't appreciated how funny Kurt and Mercedes were, how smart Tina and Artie were, and how unintentionally hilarious Brittany was. And Gypsy and Sam were just really interesting people. She also found out she and Kurt had tons in common. She felt less alone now.

There was, of course, what happened at Nationals, were had renewed her belief in a just world. That helped.

There was also a couple of things that happened in France. One was having sex with Finn. She couldn't understand why society seemed to believe that if a girl had sex it meant she had no self respect or lost it, or that it hurt her emotionally or somehow sullied her. Sleeping with Finn actually made her feel the opposite. Hearing him moan and call out her name actually made her feel really powerful and proud of her body. And having an orgasm was just fantastic. She didn't feel like she was completely changed by having sex, in fact, she was surprised about how different she didn't feel. She still felt like herself, but she felt very satisfied.

Rachel supposed she was lucky. After all, she had done it completely of her own will, not at all pressured. She had done it with someone she cared about and trusted. She had been responsible, and hadn't done it under any dishonest or impure terms. It had all been done on her own terms. She had a feeling the majority of other girls didn't get to say the same thing, which was probably why it got such a bad rep.

She crossed the parking lot and entered the school, keeping an eye out for her friends. But apparently, someone spotted her first.

"RACHEL? Is that YOU?"

Kurt Hummel marched up to her, looking shocked and awed as he scanned her from head to toe. Rachel felt a sense of satisfaction at impressing Kurt Hummel.

"Yes, Kurt, it's me." She said, smiling.

"But…. You're dressed well. Really well. What happened? Where are the Kindergarten sweaters and Sunday School dresses?"

Rachel looked down and grinned. "You like it? I got a makeover in France."

Whilst in Paris, she had gone to visit her cool French Aunt Charlotte. Aunt Charlotte was the closest thing Rachel had ever had to a Mother Figure, a rich woman who was an executive editor at Vogue France. Charlotte took one look at her and asked her why she was dressed like a little girl. Rachel thought Charlotte was going to berate her, but instead, she simply called up a bunch of stylists and designers and set them loose on her niece. First, though, she made sure Rachel told them what she didn't like. Two days later, her team had come up with an entirely new wardrobe for her, including clothes, make-up, shoes, accessories, hair products, and a list of outfit tips. To Rachel's surprise, she actually felt comfortable in her new clothing.

They had decided that the best thing to do was for her to go vintage-chic. Gone were the sweaters with sailboats and animals, the pleated skirts, knee-socks, jumpers and ruffled, floral-patterned dresses. Instead, she was outfitted with vintage frocks and dresses, stylish flats, flattering blouses, dress pants, wide-necked tops, tailored blazers, cardigans, stockings, silk scarves and simple, low, form-fitting rompers, comfortable heels. All of it tailored to fit her like a glove. At first, Rachel had been worried Finn wouldn't like it. While the clothes were not very tight, they were form-fitting and certainly much tighter than her old clothes. A lot of the tops and dresses had sweet-heart necklines, which she worried looked too provocative. Normally she wouldn't have had these worries: the clothes were never insanely sexy or provocative, but compared to her old clothes… well, they were definitely much more fitted, to say the least. Finn had told her he like the way she usually dressed, and she didn't want to have another embarrassing makeover debacle.

But Finn liked it. He thought it was cute, and that it looked like her (she still got to keep her old hair and head-bands, and her make-up barely changed).

"The secret to be sexy but not vampish, Sweetie," her aunt told her, "Is you show off one or the other, never both. You can display your legs to a certain degree and cover your chest, or enhance your chest and cover your legs. But never both at the same time. With make-up you can accentuate your eyes or your lips but never both. Never wear a dress that is both tight in the bodice and the skirt. Have it fit your upper torso, cinch at the waist, and then expand. Never wear a skirt that goes more than an inch above the knee unless you're wearing a long-sleeved top with a high, wide neckline. Keep things simple. Less is more."

She had wanted to surprise everyone, so she had worn her old clothes when hanging out with her friends before school started. She wanted to surprise them. Today she was wearing a sleeveless red frock with a sweetheart neckline, ¾ inch straps, black trim and a loose skirt that stopped just below the knee with black flats, purse, and black head-band. She definitely didn't look like the other girls, but she didn't look like a little girl anymore either. She still had that sort of conservative-but-young air to her look.

"You look like Betty Draper," Kurt said, amazed. "Like a brunette Betty Draper."

She smiled. "Thank you. Coming from you, that means a lot."

Mercedes walked up and gave her friend an appraising look. "Girl, I gotta hand it to you, you look good. Major upgrade."

Rachel blushed. "Yeah, well, I have an Aunt who works for Vogue France and she sort of set her people on me. I wasn't really sure how it would turn out."

"Trust me, it turned out well. And this weekend we are going to ritualistically burn your old wardrobe." Kurt replied.

Rachel laughed. "Okay, it's a date. I'll see you guys later, I've got to stock my new locker."

"See you."


End file.
